Uncertainty of funding that has ballooned since attacks in 2001 spurring Papp to prepare for what may lie ahead

In August, the Coast Guard tested the ScanEagle aboard the Stratton. The mini surveillance plane with a 10-foot wingspan is made by Boeing Co. subsidiary Insitu. It is launched via shipboard catapult and landed by a hook that grabs its wing.

Papp said testing will continue this year.

“It shows a lot of promise for us,” the commandant said. “We can expand our horizon around each ship out there.”

Despite the eventual loss of the Sherman and Boutwell, San Diego may look forward to the addition of another new Coast Guard ship line, the Offshore Patrol Cutter.

This medium-sized ship will replace the agency’s existing 210-foot and 270-foot cutters. The first one is expected to be delivered in 2020.

Papp hinted strongly that San Diego is a likely location for at least one of the 25 that the Coast Guard expects to buy. Crews are expected to number 75 to 100 people.

“We’ll be looking for places to locate them in ports where there’s good living for our people and ports where the weather is good. While I’m not specifying any port, you might be catching my drift that places like San Diego are attractive,” he said.

“For a service as small as we are, we have a rather substantial number of people here in San Diego. And we will into the future.”